Goa Tourism announces Carnival

Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar on Monday announced the plans that the state has drawn up to celebrate Carnaval 2014.

The festivities will begin on Feb 28 with the inauguration of the food and culture festival and wind up on Mar 4.

Parulekar also added that this year's event will be one of the most colourful and vibrant editions of the Carnaval. The event is Goa's tribute to its diverse population and heritage; it aims to spread a message of peace, unity and harmony.

Speaking to media, he said, "The Goa Carnaval is the highlight of our annual calendar and we want to ensure that this will be an unforgettable experience for locals as well as visitors to the state. Our vision is to see that the Carnaval here becomes as popular as the legendary Brazilian Carnival."

Parulekar said the Goa Tourism is keen on promoting the state as a place for celebrations.

"Goa is a place that induces a contagious celebratory spirit, right from weddings to festivals everything here is celebrated with pomp and fervor. This is why we are also promoting and packaging festivals and events like the Carnaval 2014 followed by Cashew and Coconut Festival, Goa International Travel Mart. Others like Shigmo, Sao Jao, Bonderam and Tirpurari Purnima have some quaint traditions associated with that are a testimony to Goa's rich history. It is also our effort to preserve the heritage and cultural lineage of our state," he said.

Parulekar then went on to enthusiastically outline the plans for this year's event and mentioned that the state is geared up to expect and accommodate over 2.5lakh tourists during this time.

The Carnival 2014 commences with a Food and Culture festival on Feb 28, which will highlight the cuisine and rich legacy of Goa.

The festival will also feature participation from other states. A Brazilian troupe will be especially flown in for an electrifying Samba performance.

Prominent musicians including the Raghu Dixit Project, Strings and some famous home-grown bands will perform at the festival too. It is expected that a fashion show and a fire display will also be included in the celebrations.

The event also saw actors Jackky Bhagnani and Neha Sharma, who star in the upcoming movie 'Youngistaan'.

Goa Tourism is also taking measures to ensure that high standards of safety, hygenie and cleanliness are maintained in the state.

Nikhil Desai, MD of GTDC, and Director of Tourism, Government of Goa, said, "We have taken measures to ensure 100 per cent safety for everyone and have increased the deployment of police force at tourist spots. We are also in the process of increasing room inventory for tourists."